Daily wager Sanjay Mukhi and his wife Lakshmi had lost all hope of saving their son, who was suffering from congenital kidney ailment since birth, but doctors at

Mercy Hospital were able to carry out two complex surgeries on the one-and-half-year-old boy and save his life.

Harsh, the only child of the Mukhi’s of Bhalubasa, was released on Tuesday after two surgeries, one conducted in February and another in May.

He was first admitted to the hospital on February 2 with complaints of fever, pain, no urine output and difficulty in passing stool. Examination revealed his abdomen was swollen with the presence of large and firm lump. The child was crying and had difficulty breathing.

A CT scan showed a massively enlarged hydronephrotic left kidney going across to the midline and pressing the other kidney as well as the intestine. Blood reports showed that serum creatinine was at 2.6, indicating shutdown of kidney functions.

Senior urologist Dr Harprit Singh diagnosed the boy’s condition as “left uretero pelvic junction obstruction”, ie, when a part of the kidney is blocked. Because of the block at the junction of the kidney and ureter, urine from the kidney does not drain into the bladder, a condition that can be life threatening.

An emergency surgery was necessary to save the life of the child. But Sanjay said he couldn’t afford the cost of the surgery. He did not have an Ayushman card too. But the doctor and the hospital management waived the cost (Rs 30,000 approximately) and went ahead with the surgery.

“Direct diversion of urine from kidney by “Percutaneous Nephrotomy (placement of a catheter through the skin into kidney to drain out urine)” was planned in the left kidney and the surgery was done on February 9. The child’s symptoms disappeared and his renal function improved,” Dr Singh told the media on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the hospital sounded the district administration and helped the Mukhis get enrolled into the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

A second operation, “Anderson Hyanes Pyeloplasty”, was done on May 8 for which the health scheme came in handy.

“The surgery was uneventful,” said Dr Singh, adding that cases such as Harsh’s were rare and Mercy Hospital was now ready to handle children born with congenital kidney diseases.

A similar surgery in metros, sources claimed, would have cost nearly Rs 1.20 lakh.

GM of the 250-bed Mercy Hospital James Davis said apart from Dr Singh, the team of paediatricians, particularly Dr Shubhojeet Bannerjee, nurses and support staff played a crucial role in the effort.